Staccato

Your host Nigel Roberts is talking about the music industry with the people who help it thrive. Staccato Talks is a podcast about musicians and the state of the music industry today. Here’s how it started: At a guitar concert in Halifax, I met a chemistry Prof who was an amateur classical guitarist, much like I am. To improve my musicianship, he suggested that I try and join the Dalhousie University Guitar Ensemble and to my surprise – I got accepted. Playing and performing alongside these young music students and getting to know some of them, I became curious about what's involved in a musical education and how these students begin – and sustain a career in a changing musical landscape - the origins for Staccato! Over the ensuing years, I interviewed music students studying across Canada, the US and Europe, as well as professional musicians and music educators. Drawing from these interviews, the podcasts cover a diverse range of music genres from classical, folk and rock to blues and hip-hop. I’m very excited to share these fascinating stories and personal insights about music with you in the Staccato podcasts! Happy listening! Nigel Roberts

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Episodes

Episode 06 - Tania Miller

Canadian Conductor Tania Miller guides us through a fascinating journey into the art of conducting. She discusses what’s it like for a conductor starting off when there’s no place to hide and learn what you’re doing except in front of an audience and if an orchestra can be a monster for a young conductor. Tania explains why she’s so passionate about classical music, how she brings out the best in an orchestra and what’s required to communicate with all the musicians in front of her so that her v...

Apr 23, 2018•33 min

Episode 05 - Vinyl Envy

Mike Cline, Owner and Matt Andrade, Head of Promotions at Vinyl Envy in Victoria, BC share their thoughts about what are the real reasons behind the current revival in vinyl records. The guys explain why vinyl should never have gone away in the first place and how it was DJ’s who kept it alive in the nineties…by spinning vinyl. They describe why “it’s just the better format” – how the best part of the music industry was always vinyl and why they play album sides all the time. “We never play any ...

Apr 23, 2018•23 min

Episode 04 - Vic Horvath

Let’s find out why by following the rabbit hole down into the influence of early blues singers like Mildred Bailey and Robert Johnson with singer-songwriter and recording artist - Vic Horvath. Perhaps the owner of Vinyl Envy put it best when he said: “Once somebody’s kind of into the blues, they’re there, like they may not come out for awhile.” In this episode, we learn how Vic got curious about early rock & roll music and how she dug deeper into where it was coming from. She talks about the...

Apr 23, 2018•20 min

Episode 03 - Elder Sister Plumb - Tanya Semple

Singer-songwriter and recording artist Elder Sister Plum talks about how she realized as a teen-ager that while none of the traditional career paths made any sense to her – but music always did. What do you do if you’re a musician and you make a mistake during a song onstage? What does it mean to be a professional musician? And what’s it like for a young musician trying to make a living from music today? In this episode of Staccato, Elder Sister Plum answers these questions based on her own expe...

Apr 23, 2018•22 min

Episode 02 - Alexander Dunn

Alexander Dunn, Head of the Guitar Program at the University of Victoria talks explains “how good teaching has now been spread around the world, so now, we can hear high-level players from all corners of the globe” – and: “how it’s not unusual to see an eleven – year old from Shanghai or a twelve – year old from Eastern Europe playing at - or beyond the level of Julian Bream or Andres Segovia in the seventies.” Alex discusses how the guitar has matured from the early era and the welcome end to w...

Apr 23, 2018•22 min

Episode 01 - Skye Allen

Skye Allen - MC and vocalist with soul and hip-hop band The Spliff Personalities shares what she’s gained from writing songs by herself to what that brings working collaboratively on song-writing with the group – “it’s an interplay now between me and everyone else.” Drawing from her extensive knowledge of hip hop and “the breath of intelligence behind it as an art form,” Skye talks about how her discovery of it merged with her love of writing and poetry. She offers an insightful profile on why s...

Apr 23, 2018•31 min

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